I live in England.
I was browsing a shop while parking at their ECP-managed car park. I overstayed but the shop said they'd ask ECP to cancel the fine. Despite being in touch after receiving the fine by post, and despite them saying they instructed ECP to cancel it, I got a debt collection letter with instructions to pay immediately.
So, I sent an email to the shop with the PCN and and reg plate, asking to resolve. They finally acted and forwarded to the ECP regional manager who replied to the chain with a simple "I can confirm this has been cancelled, Max [not the real name]", from their official email address.
I sent that email chain to the debt collection company and they said it's not official enough, as it's not quoting the PCN again (though it's in my original email to the shop), it doesn't have an ECP logo and the signature is not official (it doesn't say who they are for example). Is this reasonable?
Any suggestions on what else to do? I don't have access to ECP quickly as they don't seem to take any phone calls. I have asked the shop to ask ECP for a more formal cancellation but haven't heard yet.
In the event that ECP wouldn't provide that more official email, would a CC judge see the current email as enough proof that the charge was actually cancelled? Is ECP legally required to issue a formal cancellation notification to me and to the debt collector?